Kumar Sangakkara Proud Of Sri Lanka's Performance In 3rd Test Against England

Sri Lanka made a strong comeback in the ongoing third Test against England at the Oval on Sunday (September 8) and are on the cusp of securing a famous win over the Poms at the Oval. At the end of the third day’s play, the visitors were 125 runs behind with as many as nine wickets in hand. Legendary Sri Lankan cricketer and former captain Kumar Sangakkara was proud of the visiting side’s performance.

He spoke highly of the Dhananjaya de Silva-led side during a chat with Sky Sports. Sangakkara also discussed England’s batting collapse in their second inning and said it allowed Sri Lanka to take command, and they made sure to grab the opportunity.

Lahiru Kumara stole the show for Sri Lanka as the right-arm pacer claimed a four-wicket haul. Vishwa Fernando assisted him. The 32-year-old picked up the crucial wickets of Joe Root, Ollie Pope, and Harry Brook. Jamie Smith, who was the top performer for England, also fell victim to Fernando after scoring a quickfire 60 with 10 boundaries and one six.

“It has been an excellent day (Day 3). There was a little period when Jamie Smith was reversing pressure on Sri Lanka, and they looked a little bit rattled. But at no stage today, I saw the belief ebbing away from them. England gave them quite a lot of chances to get in. They grabbed those chances and took the wickets when needed,” Sangakkara said on Sky Sports.

The former Test captain also lauded Pathum Nissanka for making a positive start to the fourth-inning chase. The other opener, Dimuth Karunaratne, returned early to the dressing room. Nissanka then joined hands with Kusal Mendis and went on to stitch a 55-run stand. Nissanka hit seven boundaries to score 53 off 44 balls.

“I loved the intent the openers showed, especially Nissanka and also Kusal Mendis, coming out under the pressure. He is not thinking about the past and staying in his moment to understand how I could win this Test match for my side by scoring runs. So, all in all, it was a fantastic day for Sri Lanka, but they have a lot more to do tomorrow (Day 4),” Sangakkara explained.

Former English cricketer Mark Butcher, who was also part of the discussion, felt that the host “donated some top-order wickets” in the second innings, which might have made the task more difficult. “Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando had wonderful spells to knock out the heart of the England middle order,” he added.

England will be desperate to pick up some early wickets on the penultimate day of the fixture to put some pressure on Sri Lanka. The visitors had lost five wickets, scoring 93 runs in the first inning. But this time, Nissanka and Mendis built a strong foundation.